Thursday, September 1, 2016

Once again, I'm starting with action from last night's BBAD episode, which feels like a cop out, but the house guests have literally been sleeping all day long here on the east coast. Might as well clear out my DVR recordings while I'm at it.

Last night just before 9:00 PM BBT, Corey and Nicole called Victor and Paul into the HoH room for a special Final Four meeting. Nicole and Corey sat on the bed to address them, and even though Corey told them that the meeting was good news, they were both nervous and scared of what was about to happen.

What Happened: Corey wanted to "seal the deal" on their alliance by offering the $5,000 bribe to Victor in exchange for his vote to evict Michelle.

Victor was nearly in tears, and I could see the other three were choked up at the gesture as well. Corey said neither he nor Nicole planned to tell anyone else about this, and Nicole said she hoped they wouldn't use the information later to screw them over. (i.e. tell James & Natalie about it)

Victor: No. No. We won't do that. I just can't thank you enough...this means so much to me.

Paul: It feels like you just proposed to us. And now I don't have to worry about going home this week.

Victor immediately started talking about the trip to Cancun they'd all be taking with the money, but both Corey and Nicole told him that the money is his to use however he'd like.

Corey: I don't need a trip. The money is yours....I know James said he wanted it, but....

Paul: Fuck James!

And speaking of James, this is what he's up to. Shocker.

Neither James nor Natalie has even bothered yet to ask Nicole what her plans are for Thursday night. Reportedly James just assumes that Paul is Nicole's target, but I think deep inside James knows his game is in big trouble. I'm not even sure James wants to be in the Final Two, because if he is, he will not receive the stipend, and will not be eligible for America's Favorite Player.

Having said that, I realize the vets probably have a different deal as far as the stipend amount goes, but I think the game show laws and regulations are what drive the whole "stipend vs. prize" situation. The stipend assumes that the players are like employees or performers, so that is their compensation. But if you are in the Final Two, you are a prize winner rather than an employee, so the stipend isn't applicable. So let's look at the simple math on that:

Maybe I'm all wrong on that. James is not shy about contacting me to refute the information that I publish, or to request a retraction, so of course he is welcome to comment. He was certainly very polite about it last year, considering how mean and snarky I was about him. I will even provide complimentary tax advice on a limited basis.

Here is some free tax info now: He will have to pay federal self-employment taxes in addition to income taxes on the stipend, but not on the prize, so there's that. But that $500,000 is going to put anyone who wins into the top 39.5% federal tax rate, so that's a mighty big bill to pay.

James and Natalie are not alone in that room, but they may as well be....Michelle is rolled up in her plaid blankie and appears to be moaning and groaning like we saw on the CBS episode.

Michelle is not well, clearly. She seems to have given up and doesn't give a crap anymore. Maybe she has realized that she had the game wrapped around her finger when she made the final three deal with Paul and Victor. And that maybe America gave her that Co-HoH Care Package so that she could contribute to the devastation that their alliance would create.

But no, instead Big Meech turned on them because frickin' NATALIE thought it was a good idea.